Water powered personal propulsion devices date back to at least 1966. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,277,858 to Athey. Athey uses a floating internal combustion engine which powers a pump. A hose runs from the pump to a pair of hip mounted nozzles on a diver. The '858 patent only shows a diver being propelled through the water. However, a jet ski powering the '858 device shown in FIG. 1 has been demonstrated to fly a rider several feet above the water.
A personal propulsion device trademarked as the Flyboard™ uses a jet ski with a diverter hose to power two nozzles on a metal Y shaped pipe mounted to the bottom of a plastic board. The flyer mounts his boots to the top of the board. A companion on the jet ski can control the throttle to lift the flyer as high as forty feet above the water. Forearm mounted control nozzles are also powered from a portion of the high pressure water stream. The flyer can perform dolphin type maneuvers in and out of the water as well as back flips and spinning maneuvers. The Y shaped metal diverter has a pair of ball bearings that mount on the plastic board bottom. This allows the hose to remain vertical as the board tilts toes down or toes up in relation to a horizontal orientation. An optional throttle cable can be controlled by the flyer. It runs down the center of the hose. This is the closet known prior art.
Three U.S. Patents describe a shoulder mounted pair of nozzles powered by a jet ski. They are U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,258,301, 7,735,772 and 7,900,867. This personal propulsion device mounts a pair of nozzles above the flyer's center of gravity. Lift and descent are controlled by a cross arm in front of the rider that controls the tilt angle of the pivotable nozzles. These nozzles are strapped at shoulder level to the rider's back.
What is needed in the art is a lightweight, plastic board assembly that floats. Quick disconnect boots and a quick disconnect hose are needed. Curtain nozzle patterns are needed to eliminate hand control nozzles. The present invention meets all these needs.